Advisory M&A News – 12/4/23

Creative Planning announces acquisition of Daniels + Tansey; Perigon Wealth Management welcomes Wealth Advisors Inc.; Advisers Medelberg and Koziatek join UBS.

Creative Planning Announces Acquisition of Daniels + Tansey

Creative Planning LLC announced the acquisition of Daniels + Tansey LLP. Based in Delaware, Daniels + Tansey specializes in integrated financial advisory, tax services and investment management for individuals, families and small businesses across the wealth spectrum.

“We are delighted to extend a warm welcome to the accomplished team at Daniels + Tansey as they become part of the Creative Planning family,” Peter Mallouk, CEO of Creative Planning, said in a statement. “Their team of industry experts is dedicated to delivering comprehensive wealth solutions with a personal touch.”

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As of July 1, Creative Planning’s combined assets under management exceeded $245 billion. In addition, Citywire has recognized Daniels + Tansey as the fastest-growing registered investment adviser in Delaware.

“We’re excited about what our partnership with Creative Planning brings to our business and especially our clients,” Chris Daniels, managing director of Daniel + Tansey, said in a statement. “By combining a comprehensive national platform with our 40-year relationship with the community, we are now able to offer the Delaware Valley’s premier, full-service tailored wealth management experience.”

Perigon Wealth Management Welcomes Wealth Advisors Inc. of Nevada

Perigon Wealth Management LLC has acquired Wealth Advisors Inc., an RIA with more than $275 million assets under management. Paul Drolson, Wealth Advisors’ founder and president, will become a partner in Perigon.

“Paul and his team exemplify the kind of professionals who can thrive as a part of the Perigon Wealth family, and we look forward to ensuring they are well-positioned to deliver the highest level of service their clients demand,” Arthur Ambarik, Perigon’s CEO, said in a statement.

The transaction extends Perigon’s footprint into Nevada and grows the firm’s California presence with an office in San Diego County. Drolson founded Wealth Advisors in 2003 to serve high-net-worth individuals, families and small businesses. He joins Perigon with his team of four advisers and support staff.

“I am excited to join Art and the Perigon team as they bring the technology, solutions and capital to the table that enables us to deliver an exceptional client experience catered to the specific needs of our clients,” Drolson said in a statement.

Advisers Medelberg, Koziatek Join UBS

UBS Wealth Management USA announced that Charlie Medelberg and Stacey Koziatek, part of the Medelberg Group, have joined the firm as financial advisers.

“On behalf of UBS, we’re excited to welcome Charlie and Stacey to the firm,” Michael Mimick, an executive in the Midwest market at UBS Wealth Management USA, said in a statement. “We look forward to having them help us continue to expand our client offering in this key market.”

They will be located in the Chesterfield, Missouri, office, reporting to Gary Wideman, UBS’s market director for St Louis-Chesterfield. Together, Medelberg and Koziatek manage $275 million in client assets and have more than 60 years of experience advising high-net-worth individuals, families and business owners.

“Charlie and Stacey are talented and experienced advisors, dedicated to providing their clients with best-in-class advice and service,” said Wideman in a statement. “Leveraging our unique suite of high-net-worth capabilities at UBS, I have no doubt they will be able to successfully deliver the full power of UBS to their clients for years to come.”

Hub Lands AFS 401(k) Retirement and Wealth Advisories

Advisers Alp Atabek and Alex Assaley will join Hub as retirement and wealth consolidation continues.

Hub International Ltd. has landed AFS’s retirement plan and wealth advisory divisions, the firm announced Monday.

Chicago-based aggregator Hub will bring on AFS 401(k) Retirement Services LLC and wealth manager AFS Financial Group LLC. The deal will fold into Hub’s Mid-Atlantic division AFS’s team, including Alp Atabek, founder and principal; Alex Assaley, principal; and Jason Dahl, principal.

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AFS was previously affiliated with registered investment advisory Commonwealth Financial Network, according to prior announcements and filings, and the process of exploring options and joining Hub took about 18 months, according to an emailed response from AFS. Neither Hub nor AFS released terms of the acquisition.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, AFS’s retirement division works with employer-sponsored retirement plan advisement and participant advice coaching services. AFS Financial provides financial planning and investment management services, according the announcement, and had $435 million in client assets under management, according to its ADV form filing in 2021.

“Like many leading advisers in the industry, we have been cognizant of the continued consolidation trend for some time now and, through the last several years, firms have reached out to us with interest about acquiring AFS,” Assaley wrote in an emailed response. “For a long time – we were comfortable and happy with our structure, growth, and success. With that said, during the last two years we recognized the dramatic shift within the retirement and wealth management industry and believed that, to continue to best serve our clients and create the best opportunities for our employees / team, we may need to find a strategic partner that could provide tools, resources, size, and scale.”

The deal comes in a year in which retirement aggregators continue to scoop up both wealth management firms and retirement plan advisories. Mergers and acquisitions consultancy Wise Rhino, which advised AFS on the transaction, wrote in its Q2 2023 report on the industry that “there are more than one hundred opportunistic or reactive advisory firm buyers active today and more continue to emerge to meet the needs of the industry.”

“There are a number of high-quality firms building in the marketplace, but we are convinced Hub is the best fit for our team, our clients, and our continued growth and success,” said Assaley, who served as president of the National Association of Plan Advisors in 2020-2021.

Hub’s wealth management division oversees clients with about $148 billion in assets.

“AFS’s reputation and relationships will help us continue the strategic expansion of our retirement and wealth management services,” Joe DeNoyior, Hub’s retirement and private wealth president, said in a statement.

Peter Campagna, partner with Wise Rhino, said in a statement related to the deal that AFS was one of the “earliest adopters of an integrated service model” providing both retirement plan consulting and wealth management, as well as a “pioneer” in financial wellness by creating their own participant engagement technology.

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